DJ Herz looks like a fast riser. (Photo by Todd Johnson)

Chicago Cubs Weekly Farm Report (6/7/22): DJ Herz, Tyler Schlaffer, Luis Devers Dominate

Photo of Greg Huss Greg HussJune 7, 2022

We are a little over 50 games into the minor league season, which provides a good arbitrary point to take a look around the system and see what players have surprised us in both good and bad ways. This has been one of the most successful MiLB seasons in years for the Cubs and we have seen terrific performances from both top prospects (Pete Crow-Armstrong, Nelson Velázquez, Kevin Alcantara, Caleb Kilian, DJ Herz) and unheralded players (Levi Jordan, Matt Mervis, B.J. Murray, Bryan Hudson, Manny Espinoza, Walker Powell) alike.

On the other end of the spectrum, a few top prospects have done little to impress us (Reggie Preciado, Ryan Jensen, Kohl Franklin) in the early going. Let’s dig into the week that was.

Affiliate Records

  • Triple-A Iowa: 2-4 this week, 25-28 overall
  • Double-A Tennessee: 4-2 this week, 29-22 overall
  • High-A South Bend: 1-5 this week, 28-23 overall
  • Single-A Myrtle Beach: 4-2 this week, 36-15 overall

Trends and Notes

  • Owen Caissie secured the Cubs Minor League Hitter of the Month Award for May after posting a .313 average with four homers and six doubles. The award comes off the heels of a brutal month of April where Caissie was arguably the worst offensive performer in the system. The Canadian is one of the Cubs’ top prospects thanks to his huge offensive upside, so to see him turn things around so dramatically over the course of a month is very impressive. Doing it as a 19-year-old in High-A is almost unfathomable.
  • Luis Devers took home the same award on the pitching side of things after his 1.48 ERA and 0.90 WHIP in 24.1 innings. His diving changeup is quickly becoming one of my favorite offerings in the entire system and the way he messes with his timing reminds me of a young Pedro Strop.
  • Now that I’ve gotten the awards out of the way, I want to talk about Herz’s start on Wednesday night. It was legitimately one of the most dominant starts that I have seen since I began covering the Cubs minor league system nearly a decade ago. He gave up a double to the game’s first batter and then posted nada after that. His 12 strikeouts were a career-high and, quite simply, he looked like he was playing against a bunch of high schoolers. Here is how he did it:

  • If it weren’t for Herz’s historic performance on Wednesday night, we would have spent the entire next day talking about what Tyler Schlaffer did for the Birds. The measly two hits he allowed with eight punchies in five innings of work really showcased how good he can be when he has the good command working. Schlaffer was on my short list of breakout players entering the season. Let’s hope his outing this week allows him to really take off the rest of the season.
  • Brennen Davis underwent back surgery last week as a matter of correcting vascular and nerve issues. The hope is that he will see the field before the season wraps up and is expected to make a full recovery.

Standout Players

  • BJ Murray (A-): 17 AB, 9 hits, double, 8 walks, 9 runs
  • Ezequiel Pagan (A-): 18 AB, 8 hits, home run, triple, 8 RBI
  • Yohendrick Pinango (A+): 25 AB, 3 home runs, 6 RBI
  • Jordan Nwogu (A+): 19 AB, home run, triple, double, 4 walks
  • Pete Crow-Armstrong (A+): 21 AB, home run, triple, 2 doubles
  • Matt Mervis (AA): 23 AB, 8 hits, 3 home runs, double, 6 RBI
  • Narciso Crook (AAA): 15 AB, 2 home runs, triple, double, 7 RBI
  • Greg Deichmann (AAA): 23 AB, 8 hits, 4 home runs, double, 12 RBI
  • John Hicks (AAA): 20 AB, 7 hits, 3 home runs, 2 doubles, 6 runs
  • Luis Devers (A-): 10 IP, 9 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts
  • Tyler Schlaffer (A-): 5 IP, 2 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 8 strikeouts
  • Jose Gonzalez (A-): 4 IP, 2 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts
  • Manny Espinoza (A+): 6 IP, 5 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts
  • Walker Powell (A+): 5.2 IP, 1 hit, 1 run, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts
  • DJ Herz (A+): 5 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks, 12 strikeouts
  • Joe Nahas (A+): 5 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts
  • Riley Martin (A+): 3.1 IP, 2 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts
  • Nick Padilla (AA): 5 IP, 1 hit, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 4 strikeouts
  • Bryan King (AA): 4.1 IP, 3 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts
  • Danis Correa (AA): 4 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts

Season Leaders

Pitchers (min. 27 IP)

ERA

  1. DJ Herz – 1.45
  2. Manny Espinoza – 1.47
  3. Matt Swarmer – 1.94

WHIP

  1. Manny Espinoza – 0.84
  2. DJ Herz – 0.86
  3. Walker Powell – 0.92

Strikeout Rate

  1. Riley Martin – 40.0%
  2. Eric Stout – 37.0%
  3. DJ Herz – 36.8%

Opp. OPS

  1. DJ Herz – .420
  2. Manny Espinoza – .460
  3. Matt Swarmer – .544

Hitters (min. 115 PA)

OPS

  1. Levi Jordan – 1.050
  2. PJ Higgins – 1.034
  3. Matt Mervis – 1.028

Home Runs

  1. Nelson Velázquez – 13
  2. Matt Mervis – 13
  3. Alexander Canario – 12

Strikeout Rate

  1. Levi Jordan – 10.8%
  2. Darius Hill – 11.7%
  3. Dixon Machado – 12.2%

Walk Rate

  1. Chase Strumpf – 17.1%
  2. Bryce Windham – 16.5%
  3. BJ Murray – 16.4%

The Highlights

Photo of Greg Huss Greg HussJune 7, 2022
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